In late September, Jack Copps and his wife, Penny, were at Pioneer Park staffing a booth during Saturday Live, the annual fundraising carnival for Billings School District 2.

He was “working the booth like he was anybody,” said Jim Duncan, president of the Billings Clinic Foundation and a parent in the district.

“I mean, how many administrators do you see at Saturday Live?” asked Ginger Critelli, a parent with two children in the district and treasurer of the Meadowlark Elementary School PTA.

For many, Copps’ willingness to be out in the community working and volunteering alongside parents, educators and community leaders showcased his strength as SD2’s superintendent.

Many of those same people spent Tuesday gauging the impact of Copps’ announcement Monday night to leave the district at the end of the school year.

“The district has a very tough challenge ahead of them,” Critelli said.

Speaking Tuesday afternoon, Copps admitted as much.

“Sometimes I wish I were younger and could give more time to this district,” he said.

He called the decision to leave after four years “personal and complex.”

In the coming years, the district faces millions of dollars in budget shortfalls, massive maintenance projects for most of its school sites, and new rounds of planning with the Montana School Boards Association. The district will need strong, steady leadership over the next few years, he said.

“I was at a juncture,” he said. “I really had to make a decision.”

Copps will be 73 by the time school lets out for the summer. Looking at his options, he figured if he stayed it would need to be for at least three more years to give the district the leadership it needed. Or, he said, he could step down when his contract expires in June.

He didn’t see any option in between. He talked at length with his wife, and together “it was a family decision,” he said.

Many in the community knew Copps would eventually step down and were saddened to see it finally happen.

“His leadership ability was the right medicine,” Duncan said. “He came in at a critical time.”

Before Copps came to Billings from Helena, where he was executive director of the Montana Quality Education Coalition, the district had been struggling. The teachers union went on strike for nearly three weeks in November 2002, which eventually led Superintendent Jo Swain to retire seven months later.

Rod Svee was hired as Swain’s replacement. But after three years at the helm, trustees voted not to renew his contract in February 2006, citing his unwillingness to support some board decisions and advocate more for the district in the community.

Copps, in Helena, heard through the Montana School Board Association that Billings was looking for a new superintendent. He expressed an interest in taking the job and the board hired him on a yearlong contract.

Copps has received glowing performance evaluations. Last January, he scored 9.5 out of 10 on an evaluation questionnaire filled out by the district’s Central Officer Leadership Team and the trustees.  His last pay raise brought his annual salary to $129,780.

“He’s been the greatest thing for us,” said board Chairman Malcolm Goodrich. “I wish we could have kept him forever.”

Goodrich described Copps’ leadership style as direct and efficient, “but in a way that’s friendly and benign.”

Duncan called it “a work-together, let’s-get-this-done-together attitude.”

Copps’ desire to reach out to the medical community was important, Duncan said. Leaders in town have to work hard to recruit medical personnel to Billings. Having a strong school district that medical leaders can point to helps that process, he said.

As a parent, Duncan said Copps inspired him to get more active in local education.

In a nod to Copps’ ability to forge ties with the community, the Billings Chamber of Commerce made him an honorary member.

“To create a solid work force, it has to start at the earliest levels,” said chamber President John Brewer.

Copps has facilitated that partnership between businesses and schools through various programs.

Looking toward the end of the school year, Copps said he would offer guidance as the board starts the process of hiring his replacement. He said his most important job now will be “to make absolutely certain the transition is smooth.”

Goodrich said the board will meet Thursday to begin that process.

Using the Montana School Boards Association to vet and provide names, Goodrich hopes the board will be interviewing candidates in the next two months, he said.

He said the pressure to find the right person is “huge.” But, he said, after working four years with Copps, trustees have seen what they like and need in a superintendent. Knowing just what to look for, Goodrich, an attorney in town, said he plans on “grilling” the applicants.

Contact Rob Rogers at rrogers@billingsgazette.com or 406-657-1231.

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